Happy Valentine's Day

 We have no special traditions or expectations for Valentine's Day here. Some years, we go out to dinner. Sometimes, there are flowers or a card, and sometimes, the day passes without much notice. This will be one of those years. We agreed that we weren't going to do anything to celebrate this year, because we've been too distracted by other things. So today, the plan is a doctor's appointment, laundry, and swing dance practice. 

However, this morning, I am remembering Valentine's Days when Wally and Theo were young. Oh, how I hated the valentines that they had to hand out at school. Neither of them had good fine motor skills, and preparing Valentines for their class was torture for both them and me. However, we all survived. 

I am also remembering Wally's third-grade Valentine's Day party at school. It was an interesting afternoon as I watched the girls and boys behave very differently. I've shared this story here before, but I'm going to do it again below. In the meantime, I hope you have a good day today, whether it is filled with hearts and chocolates or laundry. 😀

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Boys vs. Girls—You Choose 

 Before I had kids, I thought that each child was an individual, and I didn't believe much in gender stereotypes in children. Little boys ran and jumped a lot because that's the kind of games they were taught. Little girls played with dolls because that was the kind of toys they were given. I thought that if all kids, regardless of gender, were exposed to the same things, they would have the same tendencies. Then I spent some time in the real world of kids and figured out that I was wrong. Possibly, there were some differences between boys and girls. From time to time, I'm going to share some of my experiences that led me to this conclusion. However, so as not to bias you, I'm going to let you guess who the boys are in the stories and who the girls are.

 Today's Story 

The Event: Wally's Third Grade Valentine Party

The Scene: The kids were seated around tables and naturally grouped themselves into two groups, with all boys on one side and all girls on the other side.

The Action: One group was carefully reading each Valentine and talking about who liked whom. The other group was seeing how many Red Hot cinnamon candies they could stuff in their mouth before their mouth burned too much. 

You choose: Which group was the boys and which was the girls?

Until next time...

Long Time, No Blog

 I am determined to check in before another day goes by. There's been a lot of something and a lot of nothing going on here.

Bluebirds are making a daily appearance at our feeder now. (Two males)

First was the big snow and ice storm. We spent time preparing beforehand, and luckily didn't have to deal with the worst-case scenarios we had prepared for. However, the snow and ice, coupled with frigid temperatures, made going out treacherous. The main roads are clear now, but still have narrowing from snow pileups on the sides. Our walks are not clear. It takes a heavy digging bar to break through the ice on top, so they may stay covered for a while.

A female bluebird on the flower box.

In the meantime, my father-in-law had to go to the hospital. The neighbors did heroic feats to clear enough snow and ice to get into the house and clear a path for the emergency responders. A firetruck actually came before the ambulance to clear snow so it could get down the unplowed street. The good news is that after a week in the hospital, he is home and improving. Now, there is a whirlwind of activity getting services in place, going to doctor appointments, etc. A million details are being worked out, but the process is not conducive to a calm mind and restful sleep.

I find that when there is downtime, I want to do nothing. And what that looks like is a little reading, knitting, and video watching. Forward progress on other things will just have to wait for a little while until things settle down. 

Until next time...

COLD, too.

 

We recently joined most of the US with snow, ice, and frigid temperatures. On Sunday, we got 10" of snow with another 1/2" of ice on top. And to lock it all in, temperatures are staying below freezing, with temperatures mainly in the teens and single digits. 

However, yesterday we had sunshine and a warm spell, when it made it into the 20s. The sun did its magic and melted areas that had been cleared. I think. I haven't been past our driveway since Friday. But we have a path down the middle, so we can get a car out. The snowblower worked for a short while until it decided that it had had enough of the heavy, icy cover and quit. And has not worked since. We've only used it a couple of times, so I hope we didn't totally burn out the motor. 

However, the good news is that we still have electricity and heat. We had prepared for outages, but we were lucky not to have any. So we've had some proper snow days with nothing to do but stay inside and read, work puzzles, and knit. Yes, of course, there were plenty of things to do besides leisure activities, but what fun would that be?

One of the three puzzles Ward has worked recently. This one was fun to look at but difficult to work.

I made a two-sided felted bag. Pink on one side...

and black on the other. 

Also, I find I still check the workline to see if I have to go into work. I've been retired for almost a year, but old habits die hard. Does anyone else do that?

It's been several hours since I started this post, and in the meantime, I ventured into the outside world, going to a Zumba class at the gym. While there were still icy spots, the roads were mostly dry. The thawing and refreezing at night hasn't begun yet, but when it does, there will be more ice, especially black ice, to deal with. But such is winter.

How are things in your neck of the woods?

Until next time...

Book Reviews

 Here are more books I've been reading lately. 

Three Blue Hearts by Lynne Kelly, Children's fiction (middle grades), 2025

I loved Kelly's first book, Song for a Whale, so when I saw this on the children's new bookshelf, I picked it up.

In this story, Max's parents are divorced, and his father is a councilman with higher political aspirations. Max often disappoints his father because he is not the perfect poster child for his father's ambitions. His mother is studying the historic effects of storms and takes Max with her for the summer to an island off the coast of Texas, where she is conducting research. 

On his first day there, Max finds an octopus that has washed onshore during a storm. He decides to try to save it, and with the help of some local kids, he takes it to the island's vet and animal rehab center. He spends the rest of the summer learning about and caring for the octopus. He makes friends and, along the way, learns to accept himself. Of course, there is drama, but it has a poignant ending.

While I knew that octopuses are much smarter than previously thought, I didn't know much about them. I learned right along with Max. For example, the title, Three Blue Hearts, comes from the fact that octopuses have three hearts and their blood is blue because of the copper in it. I enjoyed learning about them and the other animals at the center. This book is another winner from Kelly.

Not relevant to many, I also enjoyed reading about familiar places around the Houston area where the story takes place, because I lived there for 10 years. When Max talked about a camping trip to Brazos Bend, I thought, "That's where Wally went on a Cub Scout camping trip!" I am glad Ward went along on that one because there were plenty of alligators roaming around. 😀

The Secret Language of Birds by Lynne Kelly, Children's fiction (middle grades), 2024 

When I realized that Kelly had written another book between Song for a Whale and Three Blue Hearts, I thought I should complete the set with this in-between book. 

Like the other two, this book involves a middle school child's close relationship with an animal. In this one, Nina discovers a whooping crane nest while at summer camp in an off-limits area. This find is special because whooping cranes haven't been seen in this area for over 100 years. Nina and her friends watch the nest and report back to the Whooping Crane Society on its activities. 

Predictably, there are problems when Nina and her friends are found out by the camp director (Nina's aunt) that they have been in the off-limits area. There is also a mystery as to who the female crane is, and Nina works with her friend Iris to identify the crane by analyzing the pattern of the calls. (Iris was the main character in Song for a Whale.) This was another learning experience for me, this time about birds. 

I also recommend this book. However, if you only have the time or inclination to read one of Kelly's books, I would read Song for a Whale. It has won many well-deserved awards and accolades.

Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, Children's fiction (elementary grades), 1946 

This was the 1946 Newbery Winner for children's literature. Miss Hickory is a child's doll made from twigs with a hickory nut for a head. The child goes away for the winter, and Miss Hickory is on her own on the farm. She interacts with various animals, often helping them to solve their problems.

The book has very good descriptions of the natural cycles of the plants and animals, and the animals' real habits are part of their character. It would be a good read-aloud book for a bedtime story, a chapter at a time.

However, I found the book odd. Maybe it's just me, but while I could accept that the animals were talking, I couldn't quite figure out how Miss Hickory came to life. It seemed incongruent. 

But that wasn't the weirdest part. SPOILER ALERT! Miss Hickory is afraid of Squirrel because he is eyeing her head as food. Eventually, he does eat her head and brain (the meat of the nut). Because she is free from thinking, with no brain, Miss Hickory is no longer afraid of things around her. She climbs to the top of an apple tree, goes to sleep in the crook of a branch, and eventually becomes grafted to the tree. 

While I appreciated the beautiful descriptions of nature, this story was just too weird for me.

The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen, Adult fiction, 2018

This is one of Bowen's standalone historical novels set during World War II. The book is told from two perspectives: one of a British army pilot shot down near a small village in Tuscany. The other is his daughter, who, in the 1970s, travels to Tuscany to find out what happened to her father during the war.

The pilot, Hugo, is shot down by German planes and is befriended by a local woman, Sofia, who helps him hide out in the ruins of a local monastery. A budding romance grows among the very real dangers of the war.

After her father dies, Joanna finds a letter written to Sophia among his things and becomes curious. She travels to Tuscany, partly to learn more about her father and partly to get away from her recent troubles. She doesn't learn much from the locals, but senses that maybe they know more than they are saying. She is convinced of it when a local murder happens. There is another budding romance along the way, and Joanna feels at home as she is embraced by the local farm woman, where she is staying.

This book had just the right mix of things for me: history, mystery,  romance, and descriptions of Italian food. I continue to like Rhys Bowen's standalone novels.

Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen, Adult mystery, 2015

And speaking of Rhys Bowen, this is #10 in her Royal Spyness mystery series. I was taking a break from the series, but Ward already had this checked out and available when I needed something to read. 

  The Royal Spyness books follow Georgie, 35th in line to the British Throne, in the 1930s, as she stumbles onto murder after murder. There are castles, rich people, royalty, and many class restrictions that surround the stories. Despite being royalty, Georgie has no money, which causes a set of problems all its own. The stories are in historically accurate settings, and humorous relief is provided by her inept maid, Queenie. And a little romance is thrown in with her beau, Darcy.

In this adventure, Georgie is helping Greek Princess Marina before her wedding to Prince George. There is a murder on the palace grounds, but the investigation has to be hush-hush because it involves the Royal family. Georgie becomes a key part of the investigation and, of course, eventually solves the murder. 

I am glad I picked up this book, as it was a nice comfort read. Besides the mystery, I enjoyed learning about English customs and food of the time. I also like how Bowen weaves real historical figures into the narrative.

I'm still waiting on some holds from the library, so my next read may be #11 in the series, as Ward also has that one checked out.

That's it for now.

Until next time...

They're Back

Squirrels love bird feeders.

We have had a bird feeder at our house for years and years. While we have never reached the number of visitors we had at our old house, we have enjoyed watching our feathered friends here.

However, the last three years have seen an unwelcome trend. Late summer, the birds stop showing up and stay away until spring. This includes all of the birds that don't migrate. It's as if the bird community has a meeting and says that they are done with our feeder and move on to other things. We still see plenty of birds around, just not at our feeder. I asked Aunt Martha, my bird expert, for insight, and she said maybe the neighbors had put up more feeders. 

When it happened again this year, we did our standard. We cleaned the feeder and filled it with fresh food. No takers. After a couple of months, we moved the feeder to the back. No takers. We bought expensive food. No takers. 

Red-bellied woodpecker

Tufted titmouse

Until this week. I guess the birds had another meeting and decided it was okay to return to our feeder because we have seen finches, juncos, Carolina wrens, tufted titmouse, chickadees, sparrows, cardinals, and a red-bellied woodpecker. 

Male and female cardinal

It's all a mystery to me, especially how they all seemed to leave and return at the same time. But for whatever reason, I am glad they are back. 

Caroline wren

Until next time...

Note: All of the pictures are from years past. Our newly arrived birds are too skittish for me to get close enough for a picture.